Friday, October 24, 2014

Final Take!

I had a request for something "monstery" from DC, and this tale from the Oct-Nov. '73 issue of Weird Mystery Tales #8 is pretty fun, --though the cliched plot of a film crew making a horror movie in a haunted house is certainly not pulling any surprises, DeZuniga's art is wonderfully creep-filled, pulling image reference from classic horror legends like Karloff, Lugosi, Lee, and Chaney.

PS: Don't forget about our ZOMBIES book give-away contest (see our last post HERE!) I think I'll extend the deadline through the weekend-- winners announced on Monday, October 27th!

11 comments:

The film is called "Phantom stranger": an inside joke?I like De Zuniga's art, though I must admit I didn't quite remember his work, maybe because he worked more for DC and I was a Marvel fan. He did "bounty for a vampire" in "Dracula lives" right?Anyway, there were so many great filipino artists in the seventies. I may be wrong but the last page shows Kubert's influence, while page 1(superbly drawn), panel 2 shows a quite common "70's" effect that makes me think about Maroto. And I'm glad I've finally seen an actual comic showing Chris Lee as Dracula.

Actually, Mr. Cavin, that's a Beaulieu 4008 ZM Super8 camera in that third from last panel. But it is a different camera from the one earlier which appears to be modelled on some sort of 16mm camera. It does seem out of place for a few reasons, but I don't know if it's an edit.

Great art in this one with lots of fun references. I was surprised to see De Zuniga in this Marvel title. Talented guy. Thanks for posting this one!

Mr. Markwart: my assertion that it's an edit is because it's uncolored, and in a different--and far more inept--art style. Because of this, it sticks out like something that was pasted-on at the last production minute before the presses started, when the editor said "hey, wait a minute, if we don't drop some ID into these Karloff Mummy panels, then nobody's ever going to know who the hell this new character is supposed to be."

Thanks for IDing the camera! I don't know crap about 8mm field cameras from any time period, so this is as excellent beginning.

Oh, geez it is a DC title! My eyes just skimmed the cover and for some reason it registered as a copy of Weird Wonder Tales -- a comic I read regularly as a kid. It's been a tough day today and I'm a little out of it...

I agree with Mr. Cavin, I'd think that without the edit you wouldn't connect the Karloff transformed monster (mummy satan???) as the camera-man, and so somebody inserted the art to point that out. It's very much a necessary insert.

The art is just lovely in this one. The group shot of the real monsters, swamped in black and yellow, looks spooky, and the final panel with them forcing the director out the window is just as good. I think there's some photo reference here, especially on the Hammer Dracula.

The story, well, it's post code DC. It is what it is. What it lacks in writing depth it makes up for in the art and atmosphere.

In the first page middle right hand side, the director looks like Bela Lugosi in his later years. On page six, Dracula looks like Christopher Lee, the skull faced man is Lon Chaney from Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein most likely is Boris Karloff, the woman I'm guessing is Barbara Steel from Black Sunday, the remaining three I sadly have no clue.any ideas who they are?

I bought this one when it was originally published. Always liked the art in this story, but the story itself not so much.

Anyone remember a story in one of the bronze age DC horror titles (I think it was illustrated by Nestor Redondo) where a severed head is rolling down a cellar stairway on blood red liquid (DC got away with it by saying it was "rusty water" in the narrative). That story had quite an impression on young me.

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